The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1887-06-23

the Influence Of the big corner, but
the bucket shop gang, who operate as a pool
and control great deal Of money, know how
Ia throw their ducats into the board here and
manipulate the market for their own al
vantage. Say the 700 bucket shops have ten
customers apiece in wheat A bull lever
takes hold Of these specialization these
things 20 by mfcction-and the bucket shop
gang soon finds 5000 men laying wagers
averaging perhaps go each that wheat Is
roin., up. while only 1000 are betting on
decline. Then suppose that the general trehd
Of the market happens 10 be- upward; the
: o11 smile with authorizations of big profits,
while the 90 find themselves quickly closed
ont MANY Of the 5000 are about % make
sure Of good thing by ordering their trades
closed and pOcketing their profits, "hen SUI
denly and UNEXPECTEDLY the quotations marx
n sharp decline. iust as 10 did few days
o0o and in an hour or two tho narrow
rnor,,iu. Of the now sorrOwing 5,OOO
have been swept away. What Is the ex-
ulanation Of thisi Why, simply that the
bucket shop pool, controlled by half dozen
rich men here in Chicago-the kheys
Murphys Pu5ifers and Lorings-has plunged
a few thousands into the board at an oppor-
tune moment, for the direct purpose OF
mixing n quotation low enough 10 wipeg ut
the stakes of their country customers. sup
pose 10 costs the clique 10000 or SJOWV, or
even more. 10 do this What matters thatf
The country producers" have SloOOD ON the
game, and The gang quietly scoops thi' III
and buys for its individual shirt fronts some
more diamonds. and for It's stables some
more fast horses; Or better still, invests ITS
in Cotton gains in Chicago real estate, IL De
mg well known that some Of the finest ONCE
buildings IN the new board Of trade district
are owned los men who made their money M
th, traffic.
There is a difference between bucket shop
gambling and board II trade speculation. In
the former the trade is simply bet against
the shop keeper that wheat rises or declines;
in the latter the trader expresses his opinion
concerning the industrial condition Of the
Countrywide laws Of supply and demand,
the crop outlook, the foreign situation, etc
and his opinion, thus backed with money,
Joins the chorus which echoes in the big board
room here and makes the wheat market for
The world The wheat market luctuates as
the small SPECTATOR who puts Ia but 500
has his say along with the rest in proportion
10 the amount Of money invested. This is,
I'm a certain sense, a legitimate business, but
the bucket shop business has no excuse what
ever, being gambling pure and simple and
having no influence whatever upon the price
Of any commodity.
Who patronize bucket sbopsl II would be
easier 20 tell who DO not. In the largest cities
tho heavier Spectators IN grain carry their
trades % houses having regular board con-
necti0ns, and m Chicago the cream of the
trade goes in the regular channels But in
the smaller towns and cities the bucket shop
has a monopoly, and numbers among its
habtues business men, professional men,
clerks. mechanics and farmer. An officer Of
Bralstrect's agency in this city tells "a, that
a large proportion, perhaps one fourth, Of the
recent business failures iu the northwest were
caused directly or indirectly by bucket shop
gambling. The big bucket shops in the Pal
mer house are largely patronized by well TO
10 merchants and by the travelling public
Hundreds Of commercial travellers are in
fatuated with the game The customers Of
Chicago bucket shops are principally broken
down board operators, curb stone gamblers,
and a miscellaneous assortment of seedy,
band T. mouth, dirty shirted, tired looking,
umshaven persons who raise s. or $40 now
and then, the Lord only knows how. lu the
bucket shops Of this city ! could show you in
a day dozen men who have been million
aires, but who now lunch ON pie while watch
ing "the markets disposition of the last
s. they have ON earth.
On the other hand, some Of these bucket
shops accommodate high rollers The lmpe-
rial room, owned by Wiley, Strawbridse q
Co., who have a line Of bucket shops through
ont the country, will take trades in 100000
bu,he lots, each Of such transactions repre-
,ontiug "a wager Of $4,000 Jack llayerly's
$4,000 hit ON the wheat corner was made in
a bucket shop, which shows that the show
man, who has had more than bis share of ups
and downs. has Of late been able to rcmargin
bis trades against the freezing ont clique
Bet, of -. 900 are not at an uncommon in the
big bucket shops, and it is said that even in
Chicago more money is stakcd ON wheat in
the outside concerns than in the big board
itself WALTER NELLMAN.